The gym business

Although the gym is your place to get in shape and lose weight it is still a business. The equipment is expensive and the overhead is heavy. No pun intended.

The gym’s talk about hitting your hot buttons of how you can lose all those hop heavy beer you have been drinking, it still may feel like buying a used car.

What you need to know…

Just like the car business, the best time to go is when you have an upper hand. Typically they don’t offer too many specials or wiggle room, until the end of the month. That’s when they have to hit their quotas and can offer the best deals.

You may be able to get out of that dumb administration fee they charge or get a break on your first and last month. Either way, December 31st may be a great day to check it out.

The absolute best time to get a gym membership

I have had a gym membership for as long as I can remember. Even when I was living on Top Ramen, the gym was my Cheers and I always felt better when I left.

However, I have not always had the same membership. I always look for the best deals where I get the biggest bang for my buck.

When is the best time to get a gym membership?

Black Friday.

And if you missed the Black Friday Gym Specials, the second best time to buy a gym membership is the last week of the year. I find that most gyms bring back their Black Friday specials at the end of the year to get some final sales.

What kind of deals can I expect?

This year I found a Black Friday deal where you only paid $1 to join and get set up and your monthly dues didn’t start for 30 days.

Usually there would be a $99 Initiation fee, plus first and last month dues, and then another fee that they can waive if you are nice. See, told you there is always some sort of wiggle room.

And don’t forget to check out Costco! They usually have a great deal for 24hr fitness, but you have to pay upfront for 2 years. If you don’t have that kind of change laying around, wait till the end of the month.

Don’t wait for the new year to get your new workout spot, get ahead of the crowd and take advantage of the special offers!

The biggest problem with joining a gym

Committing to the gym and getting the best deal is step one. Showing up is the hard part!

The motivation is up to you! And for most people that’s the problem. Gyms actually count on people not showing up!

When I worked at a big box gym I would see the same people day in and day out. They told me they had 7000 members at that location and they surely didn’t have that much room or equipment.

The truth is 90% of people that belong to gyms, only go for the first month. It’s not their fault, they just need someone to push them.

So, don’t fall into the trap! If you join a gym when it’s the best time time to buy a membership, make sure you use it. Otherwise, save some scratch and buy a great home workout program.